Into the Wild

Rating:
Summary: greatbook
Review: i really enjoyed this story. after having rea both into thin ai and into th wild i have really gained an appreciation for krakauers writing. i was really interested in chris mccandless, although i found his obsession with the transcendental beliefs a little out there. this could have been my favorite book if my high shcool english teaher (v. lojko) hadnt ruined it wih stupid assignments. for all teachers out there, dont treat this book like a classic work of fiction. dont make kids compare it to guys like thoreau or emerson. the only way to enjoy it is to read for your own enjoyment

Rating:
Summary: Thorough, nonjudgmental
Review: Krakauer's approach is sympathetic yet frank. While he does not make excuses for a young man's follies, he does explore them with a deliberate understanding that enlightens the reader. Tragic circumstances, tragic personalities, tragic endings are part of Krakauer's theme, but I really appreciated his delving into the motivations that drive this tragic character. The reader will gain an insight into something as personal as another man's soul.
Some may read this book and say it would not have been written if Alex/Chris had not perished, but I think it would have been written. Maybe the story would not have revolved (or evolved) around the same man, but it would still tell the tale of a man (men) searching for something within himself only to discover it is without -- all too late.
Alex is a personification of that urge in every man to live wild, to live free, to live worthy of what is before him. The tragedy here is that Alex is a man, not just some literary invention.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, disturbing
Review: I've read this remarkable book twice in the past few years. I think of it often; I was most recently reminded of it by the story of John Walker Lindh, the California man who was found in Mazar-i-Sharif with the Taliban.
I've known several people like Chris McCandless, who sought purification and transcendence in the wild (or in other extreme pursuits). I even recognize a streak of it in my younger self. In fact, the power of this book comes in part from Krakauer's ability to show how deeply ingrained these ideas are in the myth of America, and how universal the urge is, at least among young men.
He accomplishes this, in part, through an analysis of his subject's character- notably, focusing on McCandless's literary preferences, which ran to such authors as Tolstoy, Jack London, and Thoreau. Even more illuminating are the parallels he draws with other seekers of transcendent experience, including an incident from his own youth.
Though Krakauer strives to make Chris sympathetic, to his credit he generally resists the temptation to romanticize his subject- not always an easy task, given the panoramic backdrop against which the story plays out. However, Krakauer's intention seems, in part, to warn against the tendency to romanticize nature. Its vastness and power don't exist to challenge us, or to vanquish us or to nurture us.
The wilderness simply is.
It won't reward us for our virtues, or punish us for our sins. And though one might argue that McCandless was guilty of hubris, that isn't really what killed him. His death occurred, as do most accidents, as the result of a multitude of decisions and events. Some were predictable and avoidable, others weren't. But a change in any one or two might have allowed Chris to walk out of the wild unscathed- probably to write a best-selling book about his experiences.
By turns a mystery, a wilderness adventure, a coming-of-age story and more, the tale is fascinating from start to finish. Though it's frustrating that we can't determine, with absolute certainty, the reason for McCandless's death, Krakauer confronts this head-on and provides a plausible solution. Far more mysterious, and intractable, is the question of what drives such a person. Perhaps we'll never be able to isolate the source of this impulse, or why certain people seem compelled to heed its call. If Chris McCandless were alive today, and were to search deep into his soul, maybe the best answer he could find would be, "Because it's there."

Rating:
Summary: My Review
Review: Jon Krakauer chose to write about an actual person, so I cannot riff on him for the stroyline. He can take the facts and paint a picture displayed beautifully in one's mind. Unfortunately, his subject, Chris McCandless, is less than an interesting character.
Common sense was not a prevelent resource found in McCandless. Academic smarts could have carried him into law school, but a primal yearning sent him on a two year joy ride. He left his parents behind, worried and scared. They were his closest relatives, but they didn't know what had become of their son. Somehow, he managed to keep in touch with those he met along the way.
He left with a good plan to go into the wilderness; a deer rifle and a .38 offer enough stopping power for whatever he wants to eat. Yet, he buried the rifle, and when he returned from Mexico, they confiscated his .38. When he went into the bush with a .22, his future was grim if he intended to survive. Let's face it: if you want to live, start packing some real heat.
Aside from the firearms, he lost his car, burned his money, and what he was left with was shoddy equipment, which eventually led up to his death.
Being forced to read this for English class doesn't help my opinion on this story either. However, I hope that people will learn from McCandless' mistakes if they wish to go on such a journey.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME ADVENTURE
Review: I LOVED THIS BOOK... I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN FROM START TO FINISH... VERY FAST MOVING... AND INTERESTING....THIS GUY WAS VERY SMART.... IT IS TOO BAD THAT HE DIDN'T MAKE IT... I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO MEET HIM.

Rating:
Summary: Where McCandless Went
Review: Into The Wild is based on a true story about a man named Chris McCandless. Chris is in his twenties, and he loves the outdoors. He wants to get away from everything and he goes to the Alaskan Wilderness to do that. He left Alanta, didn't say a word to his parents, and headed west to his ultimate goal, Alaska. He had an old yellow Datsun and he drove that to the Detrital Wash in Arizona. He lost his car in a flash flood there and was forced to hitch hike. He eventually made it to Fairbasnks Alaska and from there hitched a ride to the Stampede Trail near a city called Healy. He crossed two calm rivers not knowing they would flood with water from melting ice and be uncrossable. He found an abandoned bus and from there made his camp. He really lived off the land, shooting game and foraging for berries. He got weaker and never noticed how near he was to civilization, only 6 miles.

Rating:
Summary: A good story
Review: I really liked this book, well parts of it anyway. As the backcover mentions, this story shows the unromantic side of nature. You get a sense that it's not that easy to "love" the wild because it will likely kill you, given the chance. Jon Krakauer does a very good job of telling this story and deconstructing "Alex". What I didn't like was how much of his own life Krakauer puts into this book. Frankly, I didn't really care about his life. This book was like a dance. Sometimes you have to talk to the ugly girls just to meet the pretty ones. Krakauer's life, of course, being the ugly girl. Essentially, I thought the author did an excellent job of story telling -- about Chris. Through the story itself though, I think something more could have been said about the main character. I was left with an ambiguous understanding of Chris. On one hand he was saintly, and on the other he was self-absorbed. Clearly a person can't have both satanic pride and virtuous humility. I think the author could have made a judgement call on this one and declared Chris in one light or the other. The world isn't just gray.

Rating:
Summary: Touching and moving.
Review: Beautifully written and very hard to put down. You will see reflections of yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and suspenseful...
Review: The first book that I read by Jon Krakauer was Into Thin Air, also an excellent book. After reading that book in just a day or two, I immediately ordered Into the Wild, and was not disappointed. Into the Wild is one of those great books, not only is it a exciting piece of outdoor/adventure literature, but it is very entertaining and has a familiar and realistic foundation. This is also an account of a sad, sad event. I am not an overly emotional person, but this author has seemingly found my soft spot twice. This is one of those books that you loan out to five different people before loosing track of it and are happy to have it in circulation amongst friends and family. A great read, and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiration for a misguided generation
Review: The first time i read this book I was a traveling on a train, from Colorado to California. I didn't put the book down once and was finished before the Sierras were in sight. It provides insight in a young man's life, and his tragic death, and everything that inspired him in between. It's not a happy tale, nor a sad one. It makes you want to be great, and rarely in this day and age do we have the opportunity to think about, let alone accomplish, greatness. What else could you possibly want from a book?